March 14, 2008

90 Minutes Redux

I’ve had some exchanges with someone claiming to be from Christianfaqed. They thought that I should read the book before I called for the book be reviewed by the New York Times at the same standard “The God Delusion” was. To demonstrate the fact that I’m not stubbornly ignorant, I agreed to read it and post a review. The limiting factor is my free time, however there is some doubt in my mind as to how accurate some of the online claims are and I think it is best to get those out of my mind for my own edification. “90 Minutes in Heaven” would be one of those books that I have almost no interest in reading ordinarily. However, in this instance, I’m going to treat the book more like a mystery novel and look for clues as to what really happened that day.

Amazon had the first chapter online, so I got a feeling of what I was getting into. Luckily, the reading should be light. I’m more interested in his description of the accident and the aftermath than Piper’s description of heaven or other irrelevant details. However, if the first chapter was any indication, there should be plenty of mini-mysteries to keep me occupied. Such as this one on page 20:

According to those who were at the scene, the guards called for medical backup from the prison, and they arrived a few minutes later. Someone examined me, found no pulse, and declared that I had been killed instantly.

Who was this someone? Now, the author seems to indicating that it might have been someone from the medical backup from the prison. However, that isn’t explicitly stated. Why not? I’ll just have to read more to find out if that gets resolved. It certainly isn’t addressed by the end of the chapter. I think searching for these clues will be the only thing that will keep it bearable. But, if I can make it through John Galt speaks, I am sure I can make it through this.